Winners and entrants of the American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) 9th annual ASSE kids “Safety-on-the-Job” poster contest along with their families, friends, ASSE members and more, will again be able to enjoy the pandas during an ASSE U.S. National Zoo May event in Washington, D.C. During a recent visit to the United States, Chinese officials announced that the pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, can stay at the U.S. National Zoo in D.C., for another five years. Chinese pandas and their offspring belong to China and must be returned eventually.

The panda exhibit is one of the highlights of ASSE’s North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, May 1 to 7, kick-off events in D.C. for the “Safety-on-the-Job” poster contest winners, entrants, families, ASSE members and officials as well as NAOSH corporate and association sponsors. Grand prize winners receive a $5,000 savings bond, are featured on the NAOSH 2011 poster distributed annually and much more. The posters that best illustrate being safe at work win. The zoo event is sponsored by ASSE’s Region III members from Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

The 9th annual ASSE kids’ “Safety-on-the-Job” poster contest for five age groups for kids aged 5 to 14 is one way ASSE and its members work to educate the public on how to be safe at work and why. The contest runs through Valentine’s Day, 2011, Feb. 14. All entries should be sent to ASSE public relations, 1800 E. Oakton St., Des Plaines, IL 60018.

The contest is open not only to ASSE members’ children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, but to all children sponsored by an ASSE member, an occupational safety, health and environmental (SH&E) professional. For those that do not have an SH&E professional at work or know one, just find a local chapter at www.asse.org and contact them directly. There is no fee involved. In all, there are 20 winners.

Not only do all poster contestants receive a prize, but they and their family along with all ASSE members, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) staff and Alliance partners, regulators and legislators, are invited to attend the annual NAOSH kick-off and poster contest awards events in Washington, D.C., this May 1 and 2. Those events will be held at the National Zoo, the U.S. Capitol, the National Gallery of Art and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Also, Occupational Safety and Health Professional (OSHP) Day is on May 4, 2011.

The theme for NAOSH Week is “Celebrating a Century of Safety”; in recognition of ASSE’s 100th anniversary.

The poster contest winners will be listed on the www.asse.org/naosh11 web page Feb. 22, 2011.

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